“A feeling of great excitement. We were trying hard to prove ourselves, starting again from scratch and breaking down preconceived notions. We wanted to feel like we were 16 again, playing music for ourselves in our hometown, Teignmouth.”

The album has an upbeat vibe, which was quite unexpected…

“We began the process recording in a French chateau, bringing new music into the band. It was isolated, so when that got too intense, we went to New York and the city directly influenced the creativity and energy in songs such as Supermassive Black Hole. We enjoyed the nightlife and the grooves on the record reflect that.”

And then Knights Of Cydonia is out of this world!

“Yes, we recorded that one and Hoodoo in Milan, which was influential. We were having fun! All these locations change how you feel about music. Muse are huge in the US, despite anti-Bush protests. How come?”

“To be successful in America you must go and play, which we’ve had the chance to do at last. We’ve mostly been to the east and west coasts, where people tend to be more liberal. Places in middle America are more hard-line, aren’t they? So when we play there we’ll have to add cowboy boots and a Stetson!”

You have some fans in Hollywood…

“We did some shows on the west coast and people started turning up. It was such a shame, though, Haley Joel Osment, the kid from The Sixth Sense, came to see us in LA. On the way home he had a bad accident. I hope he wasn’t still caught up in the gig and driving too fast!”

Your music has recurring themes of conspiracy theories. It certainly strikes a chord with the audience…

“A lot of people have been asking a lot of questions about recent world events, confused by the shadiness and the mistrust. They’re speaking out against the wars and those views are spreading. We’re all on the same page. Hopefully when we express our views through music, people can connect not just to the music, but to what we have to say.”

Will Muse ever write an album of simple love songs?

“When you have so many exciting influences around the band it’s hard to push them away, but a couple of tracks, such as Starlight and the next single, Invincible, are more personal. Invincible has a heart-on-your-sleeve honesty that’s different for this band. It’s positive - it’s about fighting for what you believe in.It’s about a lot of people coming together… which they will do at your shows in Wembley!”

“I know, 140,000 people over two nights in June. It’s mind-blowing to do something that big - it’s a career pinnacle for us. Stadium rock may have been pushed out in the 1990s, but it’s making a comeback!”

Describe a Muse live show for us…

“It’s a full-on rock show, intense for us and intense for the audience. We put every ounce of our soul into the show and the crowd responds with a reciprocal type of energy.”

You won a Live Act BRIT in 2005 and you’re nominated again in 2007. What’s your secret?

“We take playing live very seriously, always aiming to do bigger and better shows. We pay a lot of attention to the production, and the staging and visual aspects - we’ve spent years thinking about that! People make a huge effort to get out and see live music - we respect that.”

What are your memories of previous BRIT shows?

“We played in 2004, coming on stage after huge pop acts, such as Gwen Stefani with Hysteria. The whole vibe went really dark. Everyone was thinking, where have the sequins and the diamond-studied corsets gone? We think people did like us, but it took a long time to for them to decide that they did. Very surreal!”

And your thoughts on the BRITs 2007?

“It’s looking good. From what I’ve seen of Russell Brand on the TV he’ll be funny - and quite sick! And British music is looking good at the moment. The Klaxons are my favourites, along with a band who toured with us, The Noisettes. It’s exciting!”